Zhu Xi or Chu
Hsi (朱熹, October 18, 1130, Yuxi, Fujian
province,
China – April 23, 1200, China) was a Song Dynasty Confucian scholar who became the leading figure
of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist
Neo-Confucian in China
. His
contribution to
Chinese
philosophy included his assigning special significance to the
Analects of Confucius, the
Mencius, the
Great
Learning, and the
Doctrine of the Mean (the
Four Books), his emphasis on the investigation of
things (
gewu), and the synthesis of all fundamental
Confucian concepts.
Life
Zhu Xi,
whose family originated in Wu-yuan County of Hui Prefecture (徽州婺源县,
located in contemporary Jiangxi
Province),
was born in Fujian, where his
father worked as the subprefectural sheriff. After his
father was forced from office due to his opposition to the
government appeasement policy towards the
Jurchen in 1140, Zhu Xi
received instruction from his father at home. Upon his father's
death in 1143, he studied with his father's friends Hu Xian, Liu
Zihui, and Liu Mianzhi. In 1148, at the age of 19, Zhu Xi passed
the
Imperial Examination and
became a presented scholar. Zhu Xi's first official dispatch
position was as Subprefectural Registrar of Tong'an (同安县主簿), which
he served from 1153 - 1156. From 1153 he began to study under Li
Tong, who followed the Neo-Confucian tradition of
Cheng Hao and
Cheng Yi, and formally became his
student in 1160. In 1179, after not serving in an official capacity
since 1156, Zhu Xi was appointed Prefect of Nankang Military
District (南康軍), where he revived
White Deer Hollow Academy (白鹿洞書院).
and got demoted 3 years later for attacking the incompetency of
some officials. There were several instances of receiving an
appointment and subsequently being demoted. Even though his
teachings had been severely attacked by establishment figures,
almost a thousand people attended his funeral. In 1241 his tablet
was placed in the
Confucian
Temple.
Teachings
The Four Books
During the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi's teachings were considered to be
unorthodox. Rather than focusing on the
Book of Changes like other
Neo-Confucians, he chose to emphasize the Four Books: the
Great Learning, the
Doctrine of the Mean,
the
Analects of
Confucius, and the
Mencius
as the core curriculum for aspiring scholar officials. For all
these classics he wrote extensive commentaries that were not widely
recognized in his time; however, they later became accepted as
their standard commentaries. The Four Books served as the basis of
civil service examinations all the way down to 1905.
Vital force (qi, 氣), principle
(li，理), and the Great Ultimate (taiji，太极)
Zhu Xi maintained that all things are brought into being
by the union of two universal aspects of reality:
qi, sometimes translated as vital (or physical,
material) force; and
li, sometimes
translated as rational principle (or law). The source and sum of
li is the
Taiji (
Wade-Giles: T‘ai Chi), meaning the Great
Ultimate. The source of
qi (
Wade-Giles: ch‘i)is not so clearly stated by Zhu
Xi, leading some authorities to maintain that he was a
metaphysical monist and others to maintain that he
was a
metaphysical dualist.
According to Zhu Xi's theory, every physical object and every
person has its
li and therefore has contact in its
metaphysical core with the
Taiji. What is referred to as
the human soul, mind, or spirit is understood as the
Taiji, or the supreme creative principle, as it works its
way out in a person.
Qi and
li operate together in mutual dependence.
They are mutually aspective in all creatures in the universe. These
two aspects are manifested in the creation of substantial entities.
When their activity is waxing (rapid or expansive), that is the
yang energy mode. When their activity is waning
(slow or contractive), that is the
yin energy
mode. The yang and yin phases constantly interact, each gaining and
losing dominance over the other. In the process of the waxing and
waning, the alternation of these fundamental vibrations, the so
called five elements (fire, water, wood, metal, and earth)
evolve.
In terms of
li and
qi, Zhu Xi's system strongly
resembles
Buddhist ideas of li (again,
principle) and shi (affairs, matters), though Zhu Xi and his
followers strongly argued that they were not copying Buddhist
ideas. Instead, they held, they were using concepts already present
long before in the
Book of Changes.
Zhu Xi discussed how he saw the Great Ultimate concept to be
compatible with principle of Taoism, but his concept of
Taiji was different from the understanding of
Tao
in Daoism. Where
Taiji is a differentiating principle that
results in the emergence of something new, Dao is still and silent,
operating to reduce all things to equality and
indistinguishability. He argued that there is a central harmony
that is not static or empty but was dynamic, and that the Great
Ultimate is itself in constant creative activity.
Human nature
Zhu Xi considered the earlier Confucian
Xun
Zi to be a heretic for departing from
Mencius' idea of innate human goodness. Even if
people displayed immoral behaviour, the supreme regulative
principle was good. The cause of immoral actions is qi. Zhu Xi's
metaphysics is that everything contains
li and
qi. Li is the principle that is in everything and governs
the universe. Each person has a perfect
li. As such,
individuals should act in perfect accordance with morality.
However, while li is the underlying structure,
qi is also
part of everything.
Qi obscures our perfect moral nature.
The task of moral cultivation is to clear our qi. If our
qi is clear and balanced, then we will act in a perfectly
moral way.
Heart/Mind
Knowledge and action
According to Zhu Xi's epistemology, knowledge and action were
indivisible components of truly intelligent activity. Although he
did distinguish between the priority of knowing, since intelligent
action requires forethought, and the importance of action, as it
produces a discernible effect, Chu Hsi said "Knowledge and action
always require each other. It is like a person who cannot walk
without legs although he has eyes, and who cannot see without eyes
although he has legs. With respect to order, knowledge comes first,
and with respect to importance, action is more important."
The investigation of things and the extension of knowledge
Zhu Xi advocated
gewu, the investigation of the things.
How to investigate and what these things are is the source of much
debate. To Zhu Xi, the things are moral principles and the
investigation involves paying attention to everything in both books
and affairs because "moral principles are quite
inexhaustible".
Religion
Zhu Xi did not hold to traditional ideas of
God
or
Heaven (
Tian), though he discussed how his own ideas
mirrored the traditional concepts. He encouraged an
agnostic tendency within Confucianism, because he
believed that the Great Ultimate was a rational principle, and he
discussed it as an intelligent and ordering will behind the
universe (while stating that "Heaven and Earth have no mind of
their own" and promoting their only function was to produce things.
Whether this can be considered a conscious or intelligent will is
clearly up to debate).
Source-Book Zhu Xi, Ch.11, #127,
pg.643> He did not promote the worship of
spirits and offerings to images. Although he
practiced some forms of
ancestor
worship, he disagreed that the souls of ancestors existed,
believing instead that ancestor worship is a form of remembrance
and gratitude.
Meditation
Zhu Xi practiced a form of daily
meditation similar to, but not the same as,
Buddhist
dhyana or
chan ding
(Wade-Giles:
ch'an-ting). His meditation did not require
the cessation of all thinking as in Buddhism; rather, it was
characterised by quiet introspection that helped to balance various
aspects of one's personality and allowed for focused thought and
concentration.
His form of meditation was by nature Confucian in the sense that it
was concerned with morality. His meditation attempted to reason and
feel in harmony with the universe. He believed that this type of
meditation brought humanity closer together and more into
harmony.
On teaching, learning, and the creation of an academy
Zhu Xi heavily focused his energy on teaching, claiming that
learning is the only way to sagehood. He wished to make the pursuit
of sagehood attainable to all men.
He lamented more modern printing techniques and the proliferation
of books that ensued. This, he believed, made students less
appreciative and focused on books, simply because there were more
books to read than before. Therefore, he attempted to redefine how
students should learn and read. In fact, disappointed by local
schools in China, he established his own academy, White Deer Hollow
Academy, to instruct students properly and in the proper
fashion.
Taoist and Buddhist influence on Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi wrote what was to became the orthodox Confucian
interpretation of a number of concepts in
Taoism and
Buddhism. While he
appeared to have adopted some ideas from these competing systems of
thought, unlike previous Neo-Confucians he strictly abided by the
Confucian doctrine of active moral cultivation. He found Buddhist
principles to be darkening and deluding the original mind as well
as destroying human relations.
Zhu Xi's influence
From 1313 to 1905, Zhu Xi's commentaries on the Four Books formed
the basis of civil service examinations in China. His teachings
were to dominate Neo-Confucians such as
Wang
Fuzhi, though dissenters would later emerge such as
Wang Yangming and the School of Mind two and a
half centuries later.
His philosophy survived the Intellectual Revolution of 1917, and
later
Feng Youlan would interpret his
conception of
li,
qi, and
taiji into a
new metaphysical theory.
He was
also influential in Japan
known as
Shushigaku (朱子学, School of Zhu Xi), and in Korea known as Jujahak
(주자학), where it became an orthodoxy.
Life magazine ranked Zhu Xi
as the forty-fifth most important person in the last
millennium.
Achievements of Zhu Xi in the art of calligraphy
This renowned neo-Confucianist, educator and thinker from Southern
Sung dynasty had, from an early age, followed his father and a
number of great calligraphers at the time in practicing this art.
At first he learned the style of
Cao Cao,
but later specialized in the regular script of Zhong Yao and the
running cursive script of Yan Zhenqing. As he never ceased
practicing, he reached a superb level in the art characterized by
overpowering strength. Since then, though his manuscripts left to
the world are piecemeal and incomplete, they have been regarded as
invaluable for collection. While he bequeathed to posterity quite a
bit of calligraphy which has been highly acclaimed in history, it
is regrettable that most of it has been lost. Moreover, since the
Yuan dynasty, his school of philosophy has been adopted as the
official ideology of China. His philosophy not only profoundly
affected traditional Chinese thinking and culture, but also spread
outside China with tremendous influence. He has been hailed as one
of the ten key philosophers of the Confucian School. His fame in
the realm of philosophy was so great that even his brilliance in
calligraphy was overshadowed. He was skillful in both running and
cursive scripts, and more especially in large characters. His
extant artworks consist mainly of short written notes in running
script and rarely of large characters. His authentic manuscripts
are collected by Nanjing Museum, Beijing Palace Museum, Liao Ning
Province Museum, China; Taipei Palace Museum and the National
Museum of Tokyo, Japan. Some pieces are in private collections in
China and overseas. The 《
Thatched Hut Hand Scroll》, one of
Zhu Xi's masterpieces in running-cursive script, is in an overseas
private collection.
《
Thatched Hut Hand Scroll》
contains three separate parts:
1) Title
2) 102 characters by Zhu Xi in running cursive scripts
3) The
postscripts by Wen Tianxiang
(1236～1283) of Sung dynasty, Fang Xiaoru (1375～1402), Zhu Yunming (1460-1526), Tang Yin (1470～1523) and Hai
Rui (1514～1587) of the Ming dynasty
.
Calligraphy Style
The calligraphy of Zhu Xi had been acclaimed as acquiring the style
of the Han and Wei dynasties . He was Skillful in the central tip,
and his brush strokes are smooth and round, steady yet flowing in
the movements without any trace of frivolity and abruptness .
Indeed, his calligraphy possesses stability and elegance in
construction with a continuous flow of energy. Without trying to be
pretentious or intentional, his written characters are
well-balanced, natural and unconventional. As he was a patriarch of
Confucianism philosophy, it is understandable that his learning
permeated in all his writings with due respect for traditional
standards. He maintained that while rules had to be observed for
each word, there should be room for tolerance, multiplicity and
naturalness. In other words, calligraphy had to observe rules and
at the same time not be bound by them so as to express the quality
of naturalness. It's small wonder that his calligraphy had been
highly esteemed throughout the centuries, by great personages as
follows:
Tao Chung Yi (around 1329～1412) of Ming dynasty:
Whilst Master Zhu inherited the orthodox teaching and propagated it
to the realm of sages and yet he was also proficient in running and
cursive scripts, especially in large characters. His execution of
brush was well-poised and elegant. However piecemeal or isolated
his manuscripts, they were eagerly sought after and
treasured.
Wang Sai Ching (1526-1590) of Ming dynasty:
The brush strokes in his calligraphy were swift without attempting
at formality, yet none of his strokes and dots were not in
conformity with the rules of calligraphy.
Wen Tianxiang of
Sung dynasty in his postscript for the
《
Thatched Hut Hand Scroll》
by Zhu Xi:
People in the olden days said that there was embedded the bones of
loyal subject in the calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing. Observing the
execution of brush strokes by Zhu Xi, I am indeed convinced of the
truth of this opinion.
Zhu Yunming of Ming dynasty in his postscript for the 《Thatched Hut Hand Scroll》 by Zhu
Xi:
Master Zhu was loyal, learned and a great scholar through out ages
. He was superb in calligraphy although he did not write much in
his lifetime and hence they were rarely seen in later ages. This
roll had been collected by Wong Sze Ma for a long time and of late,
it appeared in the world. I chanced to see it once and whilst I
regretted that I did not try to study it extensively until now, in
the study room of my friend, I was so lucky to see it again. This
showed that I am destined to see the manuscripts of master Zhu. I
therefore wrote this preface for my intention.
Hai Rui of Ming dynasty in n his postscript for the 《Thatched Hut Hand Scroll》 by Zhu
Xi:
The writings are enticing, delicate, elegant and outstanding. Truly
such calligraphy piece is the wonder of nature.
See also
Footnotes and references
- Chan, Wing-tsit (translated and compiled). A Source Book in
Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1963.
- Zhu Xi (Translated With a Commentary by Daniel K. Gardner)
"Learning To Be a Sage: Selections From the Conversations of Master
Chu, Arranged Topically". Berkeley, University of California Press,
1990.
Further reading
- J. Percy Bruce. Chu Hsi and His Masters, Probsthain
& Co., London, 1922.
- Daniel K. Gardner. Learning To Be a sage, University
of California Press, Berkeley, 1990.
- Bruce E. Carpenter. 'Chu Hsi and the Art of Reading' in
Tezukayama University Review (Tezukayama daigaku ronshū),
Nara, Japan, no. 15, 1977, pp. 13–18. ISSN 0385-7743
- Wing-tsit Chan, Chu Hsi: Life and Thought (1987)
- Wing-tsit Chan, Chu Hsi: New Studies (1989)
- Hoyt Cleveland Tillman, Utilitarian Confucianism: Ch‘en
Liang's Challenge to Chu Hsi (1982)
- Wm. Theodore de Bary, Neo-Confucian Orthodoxy and the
Learning of the Mind-and-Heart (1981), on the development of
Zhu Xi's thought after his death
- Wing-tsit Chan (ed.), Chu Hsi and Neo-Confucianism
(1986), a set of conference papers
- Donald J. Munro, Images of Human Nature: A Sung
Portrait (1988), an analysis of the concept of human nature in
Zhu Xi's thought
Translations
- Chan, Wing-tsit. Reflections On Things at Hand, New
York, 1967.
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